Can I hook up 4 100 watt panels at 12 volts to this charger? It says maximum 390 watts, with inefficiencies, I should be below that?
31481
The wattage will be OK, but you also have to make sure the total amperage is below 30A. Also, depending on how you wire those four panels, you'll get different Voltage and amperage.
31482
I have had four one hundred watt panels hooked up to this same charge controller for nearly a year and it works fine. At first, I had them hooked up with the panels at 12v and the battery bank at 12v, then I switched the hookup to two sets of two panels in series to put the panels at 24v with the battery bank remaining at 12v. I get a little more power out of the panels this way because a lower amperage means a smaller voltage drop between the panels and charge controller, even though the wattage from the panels is the same. It works fine. With an MPPT controller, the voltage of the panels is not dumped directly into the batteries so you can hook it up either way. If you hook the panels in sets to reach 24v, then your only limit is the 30 amps to the battery bank. Anything above that is simply lost.
576629
If you have 4 250 watt pannels at 24 volts that is 1000 watts at 24 volts. That would be a total current into the charge controller of 41.66 amps which would be within the 45 amp limit. However on a 12 volt system it is charging the batteries at (1000 watts / 12 volts) 83.3 amps which is beyond the charger controllers specified ratings. If you went to a 24 volt system it would work otherwise you would have to have 2 of these (2 panels per charge controller)
1283053
31.666 amps is where you are with your 4 panels. I agree with AT... You need a larger charge controller or research using multiple controllers.
1606651
This works as a battery maintainer, not a battery charger. If you want to charge a battery for a power inverter, you need a much larger solar panel. To put this in perspective, this provides around 2.5 watts maximum. The 12v power plug in most cars is capable of more than 100 watts. I have mine attached to a deep cycle RV battery and it will barely maintain the charge, even with the battery disconnected fro the trailer.
1806277
There are too many variables to give a definite answer. ie. Are you using an individual controller for each panel or one controller for all three? Have you considered back flow from one panel to another? How about voltage or amperage input to the controller(s)? Also, the 128 watts is an ideal, under perfect conditions result. Do not expect to produce this much power. They are good, useful panels, but I don't know of any panels which produce their rated power consistently.
1649021
Input wattage at 24v is 1000w max so you can use only 3 of your panels in series...900w@24v.
1504013
Shure under perfect conditions and if you purchased another six 100w panels. These panels only produce like 5.5 amps under perfect conditions. Also you would need more than a 40 amp charge controller. As 5.5 times 7 panels (for a total of 700 watts) is 42 watts continuous and would over heat the controller.
1016912
It is 250 W so the panel or panels should not deliver more. Just connect the panels to it and plug it in to your 120 VAC outlet. That is it. You can connect it thru a watt meter to see how much it is delivering.
1469846
You are not likely to have a 2,400W charger (20A*120V), so you likely have a charger that has a total of 20A (12V*20A=240W, ~2A@120V) or a charger that has three 20A outputs (12V*20A*3=720W, ~6A@120V). So, either way you should be fine with this as it is rated to 15A. If you need more reassurance, check the rated input current on the charger itself.
243040
Frank, i have a Renogy catalog on front of me and don't see a 350 panel. This must be something new. And by 30amp charge controller I assume a PWM charge controller. Your panel can be 12 or 24v not both, unless this is something really new. You might try one of the solar forums or email Renogy support. Don't call tech support because i tried. Don't. Ok? Try Northern Arizona wind&sun or midnite solar forums. Also midnite solar has videos on youtube about everything. You should be able to charge a 12v battery with a 12v panel and charge controller-period. Unless the battery is no good. Put a voltmeter at the output of panel then the output of charge controller. Good luck.
1636541
Most 100 watt panels are about 5 amp. I use 2, but I also have 4 - 6 volt batteries and a charge controller connected. I am not sure if that is needed.
1771873
Power (watts) = E (voltage) x I (current in amps), so 12 volts x 40 amps =480 watts. 480 watts/250 watts/panel = 1.925 panels. With the panels only producing 250 watts in perfect conditions, and with the efficiency factor of the panels multiplied in, plus the loss on the wire between the panels and the charge controller, it looks like your charge controller should be able to handle 2 panels, barely. Only 1, barely, if you run at 24 volts.
1981056
It depends on where you live and how much sun you get. Based on 140W 24/7 the 300W "kit" won't be enough. That doesn't mean you couldn't do it with more panels. Just don't buy a "kit". That comes with a dedicated charger for the wattage the kit comes with. Check on line or with someone who can give you the calculations you will need for wattage and but individual panels and then size a charger for your needs. I had to do the same. The panels that come with the kit are top notch and can be bought by themselves.
1969172
Yes- I have connected a 240w panel (30V @ 8amps) and also two 135w panels (total 35V @ 3.8amps each) and it works fine. The limiting factor that may cause the confusion is that the maximum output is 240watts (12V @ 20amps) if you are connected to 12V batteries. In my case, I was connected to a 24V battery bank and was dumping about 17amps at 26volts into the batteries when I had all panels connected (the 240W + 2x130w). For the money the controller works well. If you connect to 12V battery; 240w is maximum; if you connect to 24v battery you can get 480w. It doesn't support over 32 volts, so you can't use a 48V battery bank.
30432
It's made for a 24 volt charge controller. If you just have a 12 volt controller get 2 100 watt panels from home depot and wire them in parallel.
830728
It's rated at 20amp. Each of these panels are rated at 5.7amps. It should handle 2 panels, perhaps 3. I would think 4 panels would begin to limit the amperage. You can also use multiple charge controllers rather than trying to attach a larger array of panels to a single controller.
1450265
yes the voltage output will vary with the amount of sunlight. I have my panels setup to produce a max of 36 vdc charging a 12 vdc battery bank. your charge controller needs to match your projected final system capacity, if there is a possibility of adding on later. I have a mix of 144s and 88s